A Snap & Crackle Weekly Link Round-Up

 

It would seem that sometimes a person just has to do something stupid to keep herself humble. My time was this past Tuesday when a man came to give us an estimate on how much it would cost to cut down our huge deceased Aleppo pine. I often need an electric scooter to get around, and I got on "Esmeralda" to check something out on the property before the man arrived. (Hey, she's green, okay?) As I trundled through what I thought was a big shadow, I discovered part of it was a bog where one of Denis's irrigation hoses had sprung a big leak. I got well and truly stuck. And that's when Stupid struck. Evidently, I thought I was Superwoman and without thinking (doh!), I got off Esmeralda and tried to lift her front wheels out of the bog. My lower back did a superb imitation of two thirds of the Snap, Crackle & Pop trio. As a result, I've been taking it easy, putting cold packs to good use, and now have only the occasional twinge that reminds me of my stupidity. My dear friend who recently went through back surgery has most definitely been on my mind a lot!

In the meantime, I finally got something I've been awaiting impatiently...

 

Needless to say, my ballot's been completed and turned in. I hope you are all planning to vote because-- regardless what the ill-informed think-- each and every vote matters! Now I'm going to (carefully) make my way out to the corral. Head 'em up! Moooove 'em out!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• Find out why Hollywood has gobbled up book rights during the pandemic.
• Buy from your independent bookstore now-- or you may never be able to again.
• I've been enjoying the articles coming out about filming the new season of Vera in Northumberland. (And I'm looking forward to watching it.)
• The evolution of Jack Reacher.
• On the rearranged Sherlockian world of Enola Holmes. Have you seen it?
  
• Craig Johnson on the strange life and mysterious disappearance of a very American painting.
• Flowers are changing color in response to climate change.
• Can books compete with Netflix?
• How COVID-19 is changing the English language.
• Publishers worry as eBooks fly off libraries' virtual shelves.

 

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• Archaeologists unearth foundations of one of the nation's oldest Black churches.
• A lock of Napoleon's hair sells for $25,000.
• A newly unearthed warrior's grave is poised to redraw the map of Anglo-Saxon England.
• Newly documented aboriginal rock art in Australia is "unlike anything seen before."
• Why a long-awaited Artemisia Gentileschi exhibition is so significant.
• Archaeologists in Turkey have unearthed a 2,400-year-old Dionysus mask.
• Youngsters discovered a trove of 1,000-year-old gold coins.
• Researchers have identified a Mexican wreck as a 19th-century Maya slave ship.
• This Anglo-Saxon cemetery is filled with corpses' ghostly silhouettes.
  

 

►Channeling My Inner Elly Mae Clampett◄

• From shelter dogs to service dogs for veterans in a Florida city.
• The Roger Williams Park Zoo has welcomed its first baby flamingo in decades.
• Dog brains don't appear to pay special attention to faces.
• A cat adopted newly hatched ducklings after giving birth. (Two thoughts spring to mind, the first of which is "the more the merrier.")
• For the first time in 3,000 years, Tasmanian Devils return to mainland Australia.
• Find out how 3-D printed sea turtle eggs are revealing poaching routes.
• Affectionate capybaras line up for a good scratching session with their caretaker at a Nagasaki petting zoo.
• For wildlife, disposable PPE is far from protective. (How hard is it to throw stuff in trash cans?!?)

 

►The Happy Wanderer◄

• Virtually explore a forest filled with witches' marks and other tree etchings in England's New Forest.
• "We want our island back": the group taking on cruise ships in the Florida Keys.
• Why astronomers want to build a SETI observatory on the moon.
• In a "huge victory," California's Joshua Tree becomes the first plant protected due to climate change. (Evidently, Joshua trees have to fend for themselves here in Arizona.)
• The obsessively detailed map of American literature's most epic road trips.

 

►Fascinating Folk◄

• Lieutenant Madeline Swegle is the Navy's first Black female tactical fighter pilot.
• The backstory on Alice Henderson's wildlife series.
• Meet Catherine Louisa Pirkis, creator of the 19th century's most progressive lady detective character.
• Why Eleanor Roosevelt's example matters more than ever.
• The royal children of William and Kate ask Sir David Attenborough wildlife questions on Instagram.

 

►Crafty Little Gems◄

• Wonderfully intricate Halloween monster pies.

 

►I ♥ Lists◄

• The best book set in (almost) every country in the world.
• Eighteen facts about Charles Schulz's Peanuts comics.
• Eight historical thrillers featuring real life jewels and paintings.
• Twelve captivating novels by Nigerian authors to add to your TBR.
• Twenty incredibly clever Halloween library displays.
• The grim crime-scene dollhouses made by the "mother of forensics."
• From cut-out confessions to cheese pages: browse the world's strangest books.
• Six surprising facts about Van der Valk novelist Nicolas Freeling.
• Ten books by or about refugees and immigrants.
• Merriam-Webster's great big list of words you love to hate.

That's all for this week! Don't forget to stop by next Friday when I'll be sharing a freshly selected batch of links for your surfing pleasure.

Stay safe. Stay healthy. And don't forget to curl up with a good book!